Baal HaSulam, Letter 26: It is written, “A golden bell and a pomegranate all around the edges of the robe. … and its sound is heard when he enters the holy place.”

These are the stages of getting closer to the level of the great Cohen (High Priest). The great priest is a person who is in a state of absolute bestowal and who has nothing of his own and everything that he has is only in order to enter Holiness. In order to enter Holiness, he has to become a holy vessel, which means a corrected vessel, thus sanctifying his desire to receive as he has nothing for himself and everything is in order to bestow.

The “Ephod” (High Priest’s Robe) comes from the words “Ei Po Delet” (where is the door), since the Delet (door) is in the place of the opening, when it is closed.

In our world you can see a closed door and when you open it you can enter another room, the next new state. But it’s different in spirituality. There the opening, the door, and the person become one. It’s because everything is in me because the moment I change, I immediately discover the door. The door immediately disappears and becomes an opening, my entrance.

I don’t see all that on the outside. The moment I approach the next level, according to my attributes, my inner vessel immediately changes and becomes a door, an opening, and an entrance to the next new state.

In corporeality, you can see the door just as you can see the opening. But in spirituality, you see only the opening. But you cannot see the opening unless with complete and pure faith.

This means that one reaches bestowal. If a person corrects the desires that are revealed in him to bestowal, Then you see the door, and at that moment it turns into an opening because He is one and His name is “One.” My vessel and all the necessary conditions including the Light and the next level unite and become one whole, because He is One and His name is “One.”

It’s all very simple. The moment our vessel resembles the Light or resembles the next level, which means that I become like the upper level, it means that I approach the door, the opening, the entrance to the next level. Then it is He and His name is one for me.

He is the Light and His name is the vessel. When the vessel equals the Light in its attributes, they become one. So as I get closer to the upper attribute and enter it, it means that I “come to Holiness.” I become the great priest, the discernment in the soul that is freed of the desire to receive in order to receive and enters the complete state of in order to receive in complete faith. This entrance is possible only if we see things in complete faith. Complete faith means that my Light of Hassadim, that my desire to bestow, is so great that I not only work in GE, in bestowal, but also in AHP, in the desire to receive.

If I am only in the desires of GE,it means to bestow in order to bestow, and this is called faith. If I also work with the AHP, with the vessels in which I also receive in order to bestow, which means that I use my ego for the sake of others, it is called complete faith. Faith is Bina, the vessel of bestowal. This faith changes from simple faith, from “Don’t do unto your friend what is hateful to you” into “Love thy friend as thyself.”
[122962]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The wisdom of Kabbalah is separate from all the rest of the sciences and human activities in this world. It is concealed from people. Simply studying the sources will not help us understand it. Kabbalah is not given to be learned alone for it requires personal guidance which will make it possible to truly learn it and attain what is said in the books.

Kabbalah is not just a science; rather, it is the wisdom of creation. And it is revealed with the help of a unique force that reaches a person, changes him, and fills him with the “Light” of the intellect and emotion, fills the brain and the heart. Only then does a person encounter the wisdom of Kabbalah and become a Kabbalist. And what he receives is called “Torah” or “The Light that Reforms.” This Light corrects him and gives him another nature compatible with discovery of the higher world. Within our present nature we discover only “this world,” the lowest level, which, in fact, doesn’t exist since it is entirely drawn by illusory perception of the desire to receive. When we acquire a desire to bestow, at this level, it will simply disappear.

The wisdom of Kabbalah talks about the entire process that a person must undergo to acquire characteristics that are compatible with a higher level; that is, the desire to bestow through which he will feel reality.

And the path begins from this world, specifically from the lowest level, where the person is completely detached from what he must attain. First of all it is up to him to correct his instruments of perception, and after that begin to investigate what he received and what he discovered. From here the advancement begins until a person reaches the source of all the Kelim, vessels, desires, and all the fulfillments within them, which is the Creator.

In order to bring the person to such a lofty result, the Kabbalists wrote books for us.

There are auxiliary books that talk about psychological discernments, like “Shamati,” “Dargot HaSulam,” “Shlavei HaSulam,” and the articles by Rabash and Baal HaSulam.

Likewise there are purely Kabbalah books like, The Book of Zohar with the Sulam Commentary, The Study of the Ten Sefirot or “The Tree of Life” by the Ari. The Kabbalists wrote them from an attainment of the upper worlds with new properties. They write them about what they feel, what they perceive, and what is not known to us.

But when we read these books, we can adapt ourselves; yearn to reach those emotions, those corrections, within our senses. And then the reading arouses the Light that Reforms on us, which is the Torah, that is, instruction, the method. When it reaches us, it corrects our intentions from “to receive” to “to bestow,” and then we can discover phenomena of a different order of magnitude and discover the “upper world.” Of course, this is not talking about distant galaxies or distant times; rather, it is about the comprehension of a qualitatively new reality.

I don’t know where the Light appears from; I don’t feel it; but I feel the phenomena it arouses. I begin to be changed; I suddenly feel a chain of elevations and descents, different states.

And after I am changed, I discover a higher reality, and then by reading in those books, I truly begin to be aware of what is written in them. Now I can point to those details that they describe.

Suppose that I bought a large and complex machine. Even though I have don’t understand the principles of its operation, but I have a technical approach and am ready to understand the instructions. With the help of the written instructions, I begin to become familiar with the diagrams and to understand the structure of the system until I learn it all.

The same thing happens to us in the second stage where we see the spiritual system and learn to work with it. This is practical, true work already, on the level of the upper world.

And in addition to that, the two main stages (the attraction of the Light that Reforms and the practical knowledge) are divided into a multitude of stages with accompanying conditions. For example, the wisdom of Kabbalah was forbidden for public consumption except for those who were already “ripe” for it.

In general, development must begin from zero, from the “big bang,” from which afterwards the substance of the still, vegetative, and animate were gradually developed  In continuation from the ape, which is the most developed in the world of the animate, emerged the human who ultimately reaches the final level of egoistic development. In other words, we are compelled to renounce, to disqualify ourselves, to recognize our evil, and only then are we ready for and worthy of the wisdom of Kabbalah.

We see from the experience of history that we have always developed according to this scheme. For example, I move to a village, get involved with farming, building a home, a family, giving birth to children, buying cows and sheep, and after ten or fifteen years, or even less, I am fed up with it. Enough, I don’t want to continue anymore; I need something more than this. So I leave the farm and move to a city and start everything anew.

In other words, all development is based upon the nullification of the previous level and a desire to ascend to the next level. We must hate the present state. On the social scale this brings revolution and on the international scale the matter causes wars that sometimes continue for decades. We must always despair of the present state in order to pass to the next state.

So when will humanity despair of its egoistic development based upon reception “in order to receive” and move to altruistic development with an intention, “in order to bestow”?

The Kabbalists determined that this would occur in the twentieth century, after a number of conditions were established including the return of the people of Israel to its land. And then the time would arrive for the revelation of the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Baal HaSulam also talked about this. We received permission to return to the land of Israel and also to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah. But not everyone will receive this permission but only certain people. For there are people who were not given a desire and there are those who have no connection to this. Other people were given a desire but were forbidden to realize it. But there are those who received the knowledge and it is also possible for them to act. More than this, divine providence pushes them in various ways to the discovery of the wisdom of Kabbalah as the generation is already suitable for this.

Therefore, Baal HaSulam writes that all that he attained and discovered wasn’t derived from his personal achievements but because of the generation that was already required for this discovery.
[122331]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/6/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: How is it possible that sages argue and cannot come to an agreement with each other?

Answer: If I don’t agree with someone it means that we have not reached unity. It’s not our brain that is the “guilty” party here. Our intellect only helps to clarify the degree of the detachment of our desires.

Naturally, we are always separated from each other and disconnected in our desires. There is a gap between us that doesn’t let us get closer. I don’t ask others to share my opinion! It’s better if we stick to our views and yet try to unite in order to please the Creator.

Everybody should retain their properties and opinions. However, we should rise above the desires and views that we have and connect above them; in other words, the Creator is the one who reconciles us. It doesn’t happen in this world, and we are unable to understand how it works. That’s why we think that arguments and fights among sages are really strange, particularly and especially the animosity that they feel towards each other.

Real hostility emerges because we come to the conclusion that we don’t have too much in common. We reveal the evil force that is called “Klipat Eimori” and see that it doesn’t belong to the land of Israel. Then, we break the Klipa and enter the Holy Land. By all means each of us still preserves their opinions and views. However, since we share a common goal, we stop arguing with each other.

We will always encounter problems since every soul is different. Even if the dissimilarity among us “weighs” only one gram or if we differ only in one property, we still will be opposite to others. Our work will also be different. That’s why we are opposite to and completely detached from each other. On our rise to the world of Infinity, there are no identical souls. We attain a huge common desire in which none of us is similar to others. Rather, all of us are overwhelmed with a terrible animosity that is caused by our complete dissimilarity.

At such a high level, we can connect with each other only through the Creator, not through the qualities that we share with others. The higher we rise, the clearer the understanding that we don’t have any connection with others becomes. It’s similar to the arguments that happen among great sages. The greater they are, the more furious their disputes and the more dissimilarity they sense. Common people are puzzled and do not understand why they argue about complete nonsense. However, for sages these issues are not trivial at all. These trivialities are in fact their entire reality, their whole world. It explains why they are unable to reach the agreement with each other.

Each of them acts in their own lines, which never cross. Connection among them is possible only through the Creator. The more advanced they are, the more rigid this requirement. When they reach the very last step it becomes possible for them to connect only through Him, so that “the One Who makes peace in Heaven establishes peace among us.”
[122083]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/13, The Zohar

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Preparation to the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet”  

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar“

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A door, an opening, and an entrance appear all at once in spirituality. So don’t expect to see a door from a distance, then approach it and open it. When you see a door, it immediately opens! This is the law, and accordingly, if it is fulfilled, it will happen.

It is only if my vessel becomes similar to the Light—which happens suddenly like the exodus from Egypt, which was in a hurry—do I suddenly see a door that immediately becomes an opening, and I enter.

We can perform such an action in complete faith which means if I put a Masach (screen) of “in order to bestow” upon my vessel, and I become equal to the upper level.

Baal HaSulam, Letter 26: That power, to heed the word of the sages in this reality in Dalet, is called “faith”…

A person who wants to get closer to the opening must work according to the faith of the sages. To the extent that he is adhered to the greatness of his teacher and the group, he receives power by his dedication and can approach this door. He doesn’t have any powers of his own. This is how it is arranged in our world, and a person is given a teacher, a group, and the study, in order to summon the Light that Reforms, which can bring a person closer to the entrance, to the spiritual world.

…is called “faith,” as it is not established at once, but through education, adaptation, and through work.

This is what integral education is meant for, so that, by using it, people will receive the Light that Reforms that will change them. This is the difference between integral education and ordinary education that doesn’t summon the Light that Reforms and doesn’t change a person. Therefore, it is so important that every guide and teacher of integral education who works with the public should be strongly connected to the group and the study and only then to go out to disseminate.

It is similar to the tutoring of a child, who would be like an unturned stone were it not for the tutor who rears him. This is why this work is generally called “a robe,” as it is an overcoat, “beyond” human conception…

That is, above the mind of that child.

In the corporeal world, there are children who don’t have a mind yet, who are ready to annul themselves before the grownup so that he will take care of them. This is how it is naturally arranged in corporeality. If a person were born as a grownup—with a developed mind, with his own feelings and opinions—it would be impossible to take care of him. Only when he annuls himself like a baby does he allow others to do whatever they want with him. Only when he lowers his head, believing and knowing that he totally depends on you, will you be able to do something for him.

Can you imagine whether it is easy for a grown person to subdue himself that way? However, this is what we actually must do. We must take an example from this world when it comes to the phase of conception, Ibur, suckling, Yenika, and mind, Mochin. Otherwise, you will not be able to advance.
[123025]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/13/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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No one except for Baal HaSulam explained the terms “reality,” “Godliness,” and “Torah” so clearly and in a manner that is suitable for our generation and which enables us to explain everything in the form of laws of mutual cooperation between the Light and the vessel, since there is nothing but that and everything stems from it. All the other perceptions are nothing but logical philosophies. It is becoming increasingly clearer to humanity because people are developing. So we should wait until they understand how deeply they have drowned into all the arguments and the philosophies.

This is the way. We were also in the same position. It is even a good thing that some of them disagree with us and wish to humiliate us because the force of clarification is revealed more clearly by that and the real meaning of the term “Godliness” will be understood.

So by all means, they should have the forces to object. I am actually glad to hear about objections and I don’t want to get rid of them or to erase them. This will actually lead to more clarifications. Thus our world, which lives in a lie, will reach the clarification of the truth by such objections.

Baal HaSulam was given permission to disclose the wisdom of Kabbalah to our generation. No other Kabbalist received such permission. Even the Ari didn’t write anything by himself; all his work was written by his pupil, Rabbi Chaim Vital. No one throughout history has written or explained so clearly what we need in order to carry out and to fulfill the end of correction. Without Baal HaSulam we wouldn’t be able to approach the correction that we are starting to actually fulfill now.

We also produce a lot of materials, but these are not commentaries on Baal HaSulam but supplements without which what Baal HaSulam said would not be understood. We only want to make it easier for people to understand and perceive his words.

His books are the sources that will be used by the next generation as the ladder upward. We only help everyone find this ladder, come close to it, and start climbing. It is also very important work and I am very proud of it, but it’s still only a preparation for the ascent.

As for other sciences, they won’t help. They do study different phenomena and mutual connections, but they cannot discover their own engine. It’s the Light that operates everything and all the rest are the desire, the vessel, that is also concealed from scientists. It’s because the desire and the Light are two divine forces that cannot be found in corporeality. We only see the effects of their actions but don’t know their essence.

What is a desire? You may say that it’s energy; you may say that it’s the force of attraction or rejection. But the desire itself is already a spiritual matter.

So only the Light that Reforms, not ordinary science, can develop us and let us feel what a desire is; it’s as if I look into myself with a special microscope that penetrates matter. It’s as if it disappears and I don’t look at proteins or cells anymore, but rather, I discover the force of the desire by the Light that Reforms and begin to work with it. I didn’t know that before. In fact, I only knew about my ego and always wanted something for myself. But this isn’t the spiritual force.
[122561]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/9/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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We have reached a state in which the Surrounding Light already begins to affect all of humanity. Now it all depends on the person. We have completed the first phase of our evolution that was determined by the Light alone.

This was the phase in which we developed on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate nature. This was the period that lasted until the time of the Ari when we had no choice; we had to fall in order to be mix in their desires.

But from the time of the Ari onwards began the ascent, a period of correction, until the time of Baal HaSulam, who already states that we have to start this work of correction and understand that all the preparations from Above have ended. This means that the descent of the vessels and the incorporation of the vessels under the influence of the Surrounding Light have come to an end. Now we can use the Surrounding Light in order to rise above it by our work and determine the time by ourselves.

Everything is ready for our correction! So there is no need for accounts as to which Mitzva (commandment) is light and which one is severe, what are good times and what are bad times; everything depends on us now, on how we organize our work. Then we will rise above the concepts of time, motion, and place, above what we experience, and we will determine our fate by ourselves by the power of our growing connection.

It is written: “Be careful with a light Mitzva just as with a severe one.” This means that we have to ascend above all our states; we don’t know what we are rewarded for. In order to achieve the reward we must simply connect and then we will determine our ascents and descents, the pace of our advancement and each and every state by ourselves. We will begin to perceive and feel all the states as more effective and more beneficial and we will justify each state more until we will finally justify everything!

Thus we will reach a state that is completely day, a state of the eternal Light that shines all the way until the world of Ein Sof (Infinity). We will discover that we have always been there and that we only had to change our perception, our attitude, to correct our vessels in order to see that.

We must never forget that every correction is only in the connection between us that is constantly growing stronger in quality and quantity.
[122279]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/4/13

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Preparation to the Lesson

Shamati #99, “He Did Not Say Wicked or Righteous“

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet,” Item 783 

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 5, Item 58

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Chronology of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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When I give a friend presents, I bring myself closer to the Creator because I perform the same actions of bestowal that the Creator performs regarding the desire of the friend, and I thus buy him, as Kabbalists advise: “Buy yourself a friend.” I work with his desire to receive and don’t look at the person. I don’t see a person before me but only a desire to receive. His face and his character don’t matter. What’s important is that there is a spark in him that yearns for the Creator. I have to have a partner who has the same spark that I have in order to reach the Creator. So I have no choice because he was sent to me from heaven as my partner and I have to accept him and work with him.

This means that “the Creator puts a person’s hand on the good fate.” This means that He brings him to a group and says: “Take it!” So I take, since I simply have no other choice. Here the rigid laws of nature work, like in physics: I have to use these forces in order to reach the desired result.

We have to connect at least two sparks, two Reshimot (reminiscences), two yearnings for the Creator, but the friend’s spark, just like my spark, is wrapped in a thick shell of egoistic desire. I can penetrate and reach this spark only if I buy his ego. This is very simple: I have to know what he wants and start bestowing and giving him one present after another. Thus I bribe his ego and he will stop rejecting me. The result will be that our sparks will get closer to one another.

My goal is not the friend, but the Creator! And although our intentions are totally Lo Lishma (not for Her sake), at the moment, the Light reforms us. The Light shines on us and begins to work between us. By giving the friend a present, I don’t only neutralize his ego, but also evoke and draw the Surrounding Light that begins to operate on my spark and on his spark. As a result our sparks get closer.

Our egoistic desires also get closer. We see that we can delight one another and fill one another even with our corrupt desires. Together we will feel better and things will be easier! We build a center by our common efforts and arrange everything in it and serve one another. It’s worthwhile. Everything is arranged that way in order to facilitate the first steps along the spiritual path for us.

Our world wasn’t created artificially or by chance. It was created as a result of the shattering of the vessels and therefore it is arranged that way in order to enable us to rise from this specific state to the world of Ein Sof (Infinity). We have all the means we need here, but we only have to follow the advice of Kabbalists.
[122890]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/11/13

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We operate in the system of forces: reception and bestowal, and that is why any action should be calculated in terms of the law of the effect of force on matter. Then, there will be no doubts whether it could happen or not. The result will be determined precisely as by the laws of physics of this world.

Knowing the active force and the matter on which it acts, we can calculate everything in advance and evaluate the result. Similarly, we make calculations of some mechanism and are sure that it will work.

The same applies to a person’s internal spiritual work. Although we do not know all the laws of human psychology, determining desires, intentions, impressions, and reactions, but the wisdom of Kabbalah gives us a clear understanding and explains the principle of action of a human being as a mechanism, in which the upper force of nature operates.

We need to take part in all these actions and use the power of the Creator acting on our desire to enjoy. If we know how we react on the action of the force of bestowal, then we will be able to calculate all our reactions and actions; we will be able to plan in advance how we can attain the same force of bestowal like the Creator.

To create a group, we need to connect with the desires of others. We can do that by influencing each other with the same force with which the Creator acts upon us, that is, the force of bestowal. But a person does not have this true desire to bestow yet and he acts out of his egoism.

He just heard from the teacher and read in books that he needs to connect with others because only inside this connection the place for the revelation of the Creator can be formed. Therefore, he wants to act altruistically with respect to the other, although he has neither altruistic properties nor love for the other, but wants only to use them.

But it is possible to do because we live in our world in such special circumstances when we can act mechanically even against our desire. It turns out that one affects the other and thereby attracts the Light that Reforms. By my good attitude toward a friend, I produce in him a particular reaction on me. Every gift to a friend seemingly makes an opening in his heart. As a result, he begins to pay attention to me and react, although at first he was completely indifferent to me.

It will definitely happen because I use the laws of nature: I give to him, bestow, and thus buy a friend with my gifts. Gifts are my good attitude, my attention. Thus, I cause the same response in him.

First, this can produce an opposite reaction in him because he does not want to owe me anything. Instinctively, he can distance from me, become afraid that if I give him gifts, then I want to use him. In our world, we are used to in our world that there are no unconditional services. But time will do its work, and gradually the friend will be imbued with my care and will begin to answer me in the same way. Both of us will begin to treat each other nicely and thus will build a relationship between us. Developing it, we will create the place that the Light that Reforms can affect.

This will be our common Light that will build between us the area, which did not exist in this world previously, the area of our mutual bestowal! It will not be an influence of one egoist on another. Acting together, we attract a different Surrounding Light, goal-oriented, and it builds the area between us in which it will be able later to be clothed as the Inner Light.

It all works in this way. We can act on the degree of this world, at first even without a desire. But later, this desire will be changed by the influence of the Light that Reforms. Due to our connection with each other, at least two people, we will create a special area, as if we will be covered with one blanket. This “blanket” cover will become our common screen within which we will be able to obtain the revelation of the Creator and reach a spiritual degree.

We understand all the stages of this work based on the immutable laws, using the known forces. We just need to use all this correctly, like in any science, where I know that if I do not meet all the conditions, then there is no point in waiting for mercy. Conversely, if I have done everything correctly, then the result must be in the expected place and in due time as an outcome of my efforts.
[122826]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/11/13

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